Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Chapter 31 – Happy marriage

CW: attempted suicide

Zhongli Qian was prepared to be tortured every which way by Xuanyuan Sect, to be forced to do things that violated his morals, and maybe even lose his life and soul. He had already decided that, no matter what Wenren È did to him, he’d choose a path that would not violate his Dao.

On his second day at Xuanyuan Sect, though, he was taken to the Hellfire Pavilion, without having seen Wenren È once in that time. Shu Yanyan handed him over to a pale and sickly-looking man, who she called Altar Master Shi. He was apparently the new master of the Hellfire Pavilion.

“He needs to be taken to my place?” said Altar Master Shi, coughing harshly. “Cough, cough, the Hellfire Pavilion is under Ghost Peak, and I’m too scared to go there myself. You want me to take him there? There’s no way.”

“You’re the master of Hellfire Pavilion. You can’t even handle your own estate, yet you tried to compete for the position of Sect Master with the other Altar Masters? What were you thinking?” Shu Yanyan was experienced at reading people, but she now realized that she still hadn’t figured out this previously unknown subordinate of Qiu Congxue’s.

“Cough, cough, it’s because I’m scared to go back there that I went with Altar Master Yuan’s plan to sabotage Altar Masters Miao and Ruan.” Altar Master Shi’s face turned paler. “With my power and status, how could I become the Lord of Demons? I just have a tiny wish, just to change altars—I didn’t think it would turn out to be such a mess! Cough, cough, cough!“

He hacked out a couple of bugs. They were Altar Master Miao’s gu insects, which had been put in him as punishment.

“You even killed Altar Master Miao’s bugs with your sickness, so how can you be scared of the Hellfire Pavilion?” Shu Yanyan said, backing away a few steps. She was quietly glad that Wenren È had showed up before she could enjoy Altar Masters Ruan and Shi. She might’ve ended up catching some sort of illness.

Altar Master Shi gave her a sullen glance. “Protector Shu, I heard you got along well with Altar Master Qiu. In that case, you should know what kind of subordinates she kept at the Hellfire Pavilion.”

“Who says I got along with Qiu Congxue? She was a ghost cultivator, so of course all her subordinates are ghost cultivators, aside from you…” At that point, Shu Yanyan understood Altar Master Shi’s problem.

Altar Master Shi was at Void Boundary but could even sicken Mahayana stage cultivators, so he wasn’t to be underestimated. No Altar Master would feel secure with him as a subordinate. But at the Hellfire Pavilion, everyone was either dead bodies or ghosts, and the one with the best-preserved body was a thousand-year-old drought zombie, so who could Altar Master Shi sicken? How could he bring his subordinates in line?

“Back when the Venerable took control of Xuanyuan Sect, he visited me just once, and Protector Yin came down with illness because of that. After that, he sent me to Hellfire Pavilion, for the ‘unity’ of the sect…” Altar Master Shi wiped away some fake tears. “After becoming Altar Master, I went through a lot of trouble to force a couple of injured ghost cultivators who were Body Unity and under into obedience, and now, for the Venerable’s orders, I had to send off some to dual cultivate with Altar Master Ruan. Protector Shu, does my job sound easy?”

Shu Yanyan didn’t speak. Altar Master Shi looked at Zhongli Qian and said, “Young Master Zhongli, you’re an upstanding man, and you know how they say, ‘If you don’t do crooked deeds during the day, you won’t fear ghosts knocking at night’. This one is counting on you to protect him in the Hellfire Pavilion, okay?”

Zhongli Qian: …

Like that, he followed Altar Master Shi Congxin to the Hellfire Pavilion under Ghost Peak. Altar Master Shi managed to find a non-haunted room to tidy up for him. Zhongli Qian couldn’t tell how old the building was, but the pillars had oracle bone script[1] written on them. Altar Master Shi had heard Zhongli Qian liked literature, so had somehow gotten a pile of bamboo scrolls to send to him.

An ominous aura surrounded the scrolls and some had suspicious bloodstains on them. On a few of them, when the date and manner of someone’s death was recorded, there would be a note in the margins along the lines of “Bullshit, I clearly didn’t die that way”, or “Turns out I’m only worth one line in the history books”, or “History is a bunch of lies, I can’t believe they wrote that I died while screwing. I’m so mad I could come back to life.” Zhongli Qian decided not to think too deep about who had written them.

Aside from those few points, the situation wasn’t too bad. Though Altar Master Shi had taken two drops of blood from Zhongli Qian’s finger, which made him kind of worried.

At the time, he had said, “The four great cultivation clans can spread prolifically without fear of their bloodline being used to curse their core members because they all have techniques for blocking bloodline curses. You won’t be able to use my blood against the Zhongli clan in any way.”

Altar Master Shi let out a long sigh, an anxious look on his face. Along with his sickly appearance, he looked so miserable that even with all of Zhongli Qian’s resolution, he couldn’t help but ask, “Altar Master, what is troubling you?”

“Ah, nothing much. Just a certain person is about to return.” Altar Master Shi gave Zhongli Qian a serious sideways glance. “She’s human! How could she be human?”

Zhongli Qian: …

The people at Xuanyuan Sect were all eccentric, constantly saying things he didn’t understand and didn’t want to think too deeply about.

Knowing his blood wouldn’t harm the Zhongli clan, Zhongli Qian could relax and read books at the Hellfire Pavilion. Three months passed like that. In that time, his only visitor was Altar Master Shi, who dropped by occasionally for chats, saying that he wanted to hang out with a human being.

Wenren È hadn’t actually wanted to abandon Zhongli Qian for three months. The Zhongli clan had already sent many requests to meet with him, which he all turned down. He didn’t care to see any of them before he had accomplished his goal.

Qiu Congxue hadn’t been able to bring Baili Qingmiao to the Hellfire Pavilion for three months because a major event had happened in Shangqing Sect. Wenren È had read about it too, from both books, in both points of view.

Abusive Romance (Revised Edition) recorded how Baili Qingmiao returned cheerfully to her sect with the lotus heart, looking forward to her shixiong finally being healed. However, upon returning, she heard disastrous news.

Like in the original work, Hè Wenzhao had had relations with Liu Xinye. Liu Xinye’s spiritual root had been mostly drained and she’d nearly lost her life, having to be sent to the medicinal hall to recover. Hè Wenzhao’s injury was too severe and couldn’t be restored even by Liu Xinye’s sacrifice, but he did recover to Foundation Establishment stage.

He knew that he had disrespected Liu Xinye while injured and unconscious, and was filled with turmoil, so left alone in order to find a cure for her, returning just before Baili Qingmiao’s return. He didn’t find any cure, but did manage to raise his own realm to Deity Transformation. He said that he had found a cave where a great immortal dwelled, and had raised his level using an elixir he had been gifted.

Hè Wenzhao promised that since he had risen in strength, he would surely be able to find a way to heal Liu Xinye in the future, and so begged for another chance from the sect elders.

Shangqing Sect didn’t have many powerful elders left and being Deity Transformation already put Hè Wenzhao among the top ranks of the cultivation world. Faced with such a rare talent, they naturally couldn’t put any blame on him, and overlooked justice for Liu Xinye.

While Hè Wenzhao was in high spirits, Baili Qingmiao returned to the sect and hadn’t even managed to bring him the lotus heart when she heard what happened in the administration hall. She started weeping on the spot and cried so hard she was nearly overcome by inner demons, right until her Master Qingrong and the Administration Hall Elder, Qingyue, came running to comfort her.

Hè Wenzhao had also rushed over and started explaining himself just as he had in the original story, telling her with full honesty that he had been unaware at the time, that he didn’t like Liu-shimei, that he hoped for Baili Qingmiao’s forgiveness. He said he was ashamed to face Liu-shimei, and wished for Baili Qingmiao to join him in finding a way to heal her.

He was an expert at sweet-talking people, and Baili Qingmiao was on the verge of falling for it like she originally had. She not only forgave Hè Wenzhao, but ran over to the room where Liu Xinye was recuperating, wanting to give her the Seven-Colored Lotus Heart to repay shixiong’s debt to her.

Right when she was about to mention it, Elder Qingxue, who had been flipping through Shangqing Sect’s rules with a frown on her face, said some words that changed everything. “Why doesn’t Hè Wenzhao marry Liu Xinye?”

Everyone: …

She held up the rulebook and pointed out a line. “It says right here that if two disciples of Shangqing Sect both agree, they can ask the sect master for permission to become cultivation partners.”

Hearing this, Liu Xinye’s watery eyes fell on Hè Wenzhao, waiting for his answer.

Baili Qingmiao never imagined her master would say something like this. This would destroy her future with her shixiong. How could she accept it?

“Well…” said Elder Qingyue. “Look at the specifications, Qingxue. Both parties need to be at Nascent Soul stage to become cultivation partners. Liu Xinye still hasn’t reached Nascent Soul stage.”

“Is she still capable of it?” asked Qingxue.

Everyone: …

Qingxue struck deep with that one comment. Liu Xinye slumped against the wall, sobbing, “It’s true, I’m useless now. I’m just a burden if I remain here, so I might as well end it all.”

Saying that, she attempted to strike her head against the wall, but with so many people in the room, they all rushed to stop her. Hè Wenzhao managed to throw his arms around her first. With an uncomfortable look on his face, he said, “But… but I love…”

He had just promised Baili Qingmiao he would love her and only her, but now couldn’t spit out the words in front of Liu Xinye. He could only give Baili Qingmiao a helpless look, asking her to beg Elder Qingxue to reconsider.

Seeing his expression, Baili Qingmiao seemed to lose her mind, throwing her arms around Qingxue’s waist and sobbing, “Master Qingxue, I— I love shixiong! If he gets married, then what about me?”

“It’s not like it’s hopeless,” Qingxue said, sweetly patting Baili Qingmiao on the head. She pointed a finger at Liu Xinye. “Look at her. She’s not going to last for more than ten years. You can just take her spot after she dies.”

Baili Qingmiao: …

Qingxue’s words may have been crude, but her reasoning was solid. Her exceedingly straightforward manner of thinking actually convinced the Shangqing Sect elders.

Since Liu Xinye had saved Hè Wenzhao, he owed the rest of his life to her, and if he didn’t repay her, he would eventually suffer consequences from heaven. He might as well just marry Liu Xinye to absolve his debt and guilt. As for Baili Qingmiao… it was as Elder Qingxue had said. Cultivators were ageless and could live for millennia, so they could wait for Liu Xinye to die to get married if they had to.

After the elders discussed this between themselves, they agreed to the wedding.

Baili Qingmiao had wanted to bring out the lotus heart to give to Liu Xinye, so she wouldn’t need to marry shixiong, but Qingxue reminded her, “The Lotus Heart will bring her right to Deity Transformation stage. She’ll be even more qualified to marry Hè Wenzhao.”

After crying for a whole night, Baili Qingmiao begged her master to let her leave, so she could avoid the wedding.

She felt like she was possessed. The miracle elixir which could save Liu-shijie was right in her storage bag, but she didn’t want to hand it over. She thought about spending a decade wandering the world and forgetting her troubles, and after ten years, if Liu Xinye was still alive, she would return and give the lotus heart to her, and at the same time finally let go of her shixiong. Right now, she couldn’t bring herself to do it, so better she let fate decide.

Qingxue was very much in favor of her decision, and several days before Hè Wenzhao and Liu Xinye were set to get married, they left Shangqing Sect together.

At the foot of the mountain, Baili Qingmiao turned back to look at its lofty peaks and, remembering that in five days her shixiong would be married, was happy that at least Master Qingxue would stay by her side.

The revisions stopped here, so Wenren È flipped to the comments in the back.

[I approve of this marriage! Congratulations to the new couple!]

[Hahahahaha Qingxue’s thought process is killing me! How can she say ‘Liu Xinye is only gonna live ten years’ with a straight face? Masterfully done!]

[Now that he’s married to Liu Xinye, we’ll see if Hè Wenzhao has the face to marry the Violet Spirit Master. In the original he had the right to because he was single as well as the future sect master of Shangqing Sect, but now, well, I’m looking forward to what happens.]

[He can have them both and make one his concubine, hahahahahaha]

[Keep revising, author, I’m rooting for you. Never thought I’d follow a revision of this old trashy story so intensely. I believe you can strike gold again, author.]

Pleased, Wenren È set the book down and picked up God of Annihilation. The events were about the same as Abusive Romance, just expanding on how, when Hè Wenzhao had left the mountain, he had found with the help of his portable master (the Blood Demon Elder) a powerful relic, and raised his realm with it. The events after he returned to the sect were the same, but the reviews were wildly different.

[Why is this being revised? It was perfectly good as it was, so why does it need a revision? I’m so confused.]

[Probably censorship, they won’t let the MC have a harem. A lot of other authors have revised. That’s all understandable, but… what’s with this plotline?]

[If Zhao-ge can have all the beauties, then I quite like Liu Xinye. But if it’s only her, then she’s just too mediocre. Not as talented as little shimei, not as smart as the Violet Spirit Master, average looks.]

[Even if he can have all of them, his main wife shouldn’t be Liu Xinye. She just can’t compare, she’s not worth the MC at all! Is that new wandering immortal Elder Qingxue a villain? Back then I thought she was Zhao-ge’s new wife!]

[I hate Qingxue the most out of the female characters, aside from demonic cultivator Shu Yanyan. The author is really talented to be able to make these two beautiful girls this vicious.]

The difference in the reviews was like night and day. Considering them, Wenren È decided he rather preferred Abusive Romance‘s discussion page. The comments seemed more normal there.

“Venerable, Qiu Congxue has returned,” Yin Hanjiang said outside the door.

Yin Hanjiang hadn’t been sticking as close to Wenren È lately. Typically, if Wenren È didn’t shoo him away, he’d always stand behind him, even in his room. He didn’t know when Yin Hanjiang had started staying outside his room and standing guard by the door instead.

“What about Baili Qingmiao?” Wenren È asked.

“Her blood’s been taken and she’s been sent to the Hellfire Pavilion,” Yin Hanjiang said outside. “Altar Master Qiu and Protector Shu have started fighting in the main hall. Should something be done?”

Wenren È opened the door. Yin Hanjiang, who had been standing right next to it, lurched back several steps to put distance between them.

Wenren È gave him an odd look, but before he could ask, he heard the sound of smashing rocks outside. His expression immediately turned cold and he said, “Come with this Venerable.”